


Recordum Mortis

by msrafterdark



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Case Fic, Season 3, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 15:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21101939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msrafterdark/pseuds/msrafterdark
Summary: Mulder and Scully must investigate a mysterious voicemail left by a girl thought to be dead for fifteen years to her parents.My spooky word was revenant. Notes at the end.





	Recordum Mortis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fragilevixen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragilevixen/gifts).

_“Mysterious recording,” Mulder had said, his eyes gleaming with interest. Despite what had promised to be a run of the mill casefile, Scully couldn’t help but smile with amusement._  
  
_“Theories?” she had inquired._  
  
_“Well actually the story falls under the school of thought you typically subscribe to,” he had teased, “Two parents—Stan and Rachel DeCivo lost their eight-year-old daughter Silvia around fifteen years ago, late October. They claim she was abducted from the backyard of their home around 8pm. No witnesses, no body ever found. Nothing. Presumed kidnapped and then later presumed dead.”_  
  
_Until, according to the parents (and highlighted on Mulder’s slide projection), a recording had appeared on their voicemail machine a week shy of the fifteen year anniversary of their child’s disappearance. Both parents had been home at the time of the recording, but the phone had not rung and it was only when they were going over their messages that they found the haunting sound of their daughter’s voice._  
  
_The two agents had poured over police records, reading the statements of the parents, neighbors and friends; listening countless times to the static-infused, muffled recording of a young woman stating to her parents that she was Silvia DeCivo and that she was okay. Thus far, no further clues as to where the young woman was had appeared. As far as law enforcement was concerned, she was still dead pending investigation._  
  
/////  
  
“Do the parents believe it’s really their daughter?” A week following the initial brief, the two agents make their way towards the interview room where they’ve been told the DeCivos are waiting. Both are armed with tape recorders and file folders.  
  
“According to the two officers who initially took the tape into evidence, the sheer level of alarm in their demeanor suggests they do,” Mulder posits.  
  
“You’d think they’d be relieved, not frightened…unless she’s still in danger—third floor?” Mulder nods and Scully presses the elevator button, “Is there any record of Silvia reaching out to the police around the time the recording was received?”  
  
“None,” Mulder replies, “The message seemed to infer that she is escaped from whatever force—human or otherwise—that was holding her for fifteen years, but we can’t know yet. At least until she is found.”  
  
“And you have none of your rapid fire theories to combat the unknowns? Mulder, I’m stunned,” Scully grins as she presses her pass against the scanner for the interview door. Mulder smirks, his eyes appreciatively flickering over her lithe form as he holds the door open for her and they walk through to meet the DeCivos.  
  
A middle-aged couple are seated at the table. The mother’s eyes are red rimmed. Blank. The father sits beside her, close but plainly emotionally distant. It is clear that it is a marriage in name only…what else could there be with the loss of a child? Handshakes and introductions are doled out, and everyone is seated. Scully presses down the record button on the government issue machine containing a blank cassette…the device with the voice recording sits silently beside it.  
  
“The time is currently 9:10am, Monday, October 27th. Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder interviewing subjects Mr. Stanley DeCivo and Mrs. Rachel DeCivo. Bureau File Number X-50043398.”  
  
“For the sake of record, this interview will be documented on tape,” Mulder says gently, “Do you understand? Please say yes for the record.”  
  
Silence. For a good five seconds. Mulder moves to repeat his question but from the other side of the table comes a meager, “Yes, I understand”, followed by another identical statement in a gruffer tone.  
  
“Thank you,” Mulder confirms.  
  
“Mr. and Mrs. DeCivo,” Scully’s voice is soft, but the firmness of her tone professionally infers she expects an answer, “I know this is difficult for you, but my partner and I are taking this matter seriously. We want to help you. We know that the loss of a child is one that remains with a parent forever, but with your cooperation we might have increased odds of finding Silvia. Do you think we could do that today?”  
  
Rachel DeCivo is motionless. After a moment, her husband merely nods. Scully nods too. The atmosphere of the room is heavy with tension. When Scully clicks her pen as she prepares to write, the snap echos against the bare, textured walls. The other tape player containing the recording in question almost seems to hum, despite none of the buttons being engaged.  
  
“When your daughter disappeared that night in October, were there any…strangers in the area at the time? Anyone new to the neighborhood who might have seemed suspicious?”  
  
The mother shakes her head solemnly, but does not speak. Neither parent elaborates.  
  
“Mrs. DeCivo?” Mulder coaxes, “There weren’t any suspects charged during the initial investigation, do you know of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Silvia? Did she express fear or discomfort with anyone?”  
  
“It was fifteen years ago,” the father interrupts to grumble, “I do not remember how she acted at the time. I am still trying to come to grips with the fact that I no longer have a daughter.”  
  
Scully’s brows twitch together for a moment, but then her features smooth.  
  
“Let’s back up a bit, then,” she suggests, “Could you both go over the night your daughter disappeared? I know it was a while ago, but try to be as detailed as possible.”  
  
Dead silence again. This time, neither agent repeats the question, knowing that the pressure of the quiet will eventually draw out the need to break it. This time Rachel DeCivo is the one to speak.  
  
“We were wrapping up dinner,” she says quietly, her voice watery and thin, “Silvia was playing in the backyard with her friend from next door. I heard a…a dreadful sound, like a child howling in pain. Then I looked out the kitchen window and she was gone.”  
  
Mulder reaches silently to the tape recorder not documenting their current conversation. He hits play, and the sound of a young woman’s voice, that of a revenant—shaky with nerves but clear with intent—fills the room, alongside the soft whisper of static.  
  
_UM… MOM…? DAD? THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER…SILVIA. I…I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I’M ALL RIGHT. I DON’T EVEN…REALLY KNOW WHAT TO SAY, UM….I’M ALL RIGHT. I JUST…WANTED YOU TO KNOW._  
  
Scully swallows as Mulder shuts off the tape. It takes her a moment to speak.  
  
“When Silvia’s friend Beth was interviewed that night, she claimed that her own mother called her in and left your daughter playing in the yard by herself. Neither of them heard a scream at all. Do you know why that might be?”  
  
Nothing.  
  
Scully tries again, “The officer who spoke with you last week said you seemed clearly shaken when you turned in your voicemail tape, what indications did you have that this is indeed Sil—”  
  
“Why is this necessary?” Stan DeCivo this time, “Our daughter is dead. We know this. We brought this tape to the police to see who is messing with us. It is not possible that it is our daughter.”  
  
Mulder and Scully exchange glances.  
  
“There’s new evidence being presented now, Mr. and Mrs. DeCivo,” Mulder soothes, “We’re hoping that by examining that new evidence, we’ll be able to—”  
  
Suddenly, there’s a loud _****chunk****_ that echoes in the little interrogation room. A hum, a mechanical whine, and the cassette player comes to life again.  
  
_…MOM? DAD? …WHY DID YOU NOT SEARCH FOR ME?_  
  
There’s a gasp in the interview room.  
  
“What is this?” Rachel DeCivo’s voice is soft but alarmed. Everyone’s attention is fixed on the little audio machine, seemingly playing of its own accord.  
  
“Mulder, I thought we listened to the entire tape, is there more?” Scully’s eyes are wide and startled, reflecting her partner’s own expression.  
  
“I listened until it stopped the first time, but—SHHH!” He interrupts himself and reaches for Scully’s arm to halt their conversation as the unfamiliar portion of the recording continues.  
  
_WHY DID YOU NOT TRY TO FIND ME, MOMMY AND DADDY?_  
  
There’s a grating tone to the young woman’s voice now. Accusatory.  
  
“Is this a joke?” the father growls, fixing an angry stare at the two agents.  
  
_DID YOU NOT LOOK BECAUSE YOU KNEW YOU WOULD NOT FIND ME?_  
  
“Mulder—”  
  
_DID YOU NOT FIND ME BECAUSE YOU HAD ALREADY HIDDEN ME?_  
  
A sudden cold chill causes the atmosphere in the room to crack. The whir of the tape player turns to a thrum, then a heavy throb as the woman’s voice becomes shrill like a child’s but simultaneously deeper and more menacing.  
  
_YOU DID NOT LOOK BECAUSE YOU DID NOT WANT ME BACK. YOU DID NOT WANT ME BACK BECAUSE I MADE MOMMY UGLY AND DADDY DID NOT WANT ME IN THE FIRST PLACE. THAT IS WHAT YOU SAID._  
  
“That is not true you little shit!” the father snarls. Scully flinches at the unexpected reaction. Rachel DeCivo sobs once as the horrid recorded voice grows louder within the tiny room.  
  
_DADDY GOT ANGRY THAT BETH AND I RIPPED UP THE GRASS. HE TOLD BETH THAT HE HEARD HER MOTHER TELL HER TO GO HOME. THEN YOU STRANGLED ME, DADDY. YOU TOLD ME YOU NEVER WANTED ME AND THAT I MADE MOMMY FAT. YOU SAID YOU HATED ME, DADDY. THAT YOU NEVER WANTED ME. SO YOU GOT RID OF ME._  
  
The female subject wails and the male subject lunges at the cassette player just as Mulder shouts for back up. The woman’s recorded voice recounts how her own mother buried her slain little body beneath the porch.  
  
/////  
  
Ten minutes later Mulder and Scully meet up again just outside the hallway of the interview room. Scully looks shaken, the temples of her hairline wet from splashing cold water on her face. Mulder is pale and drawn.  
  
“They’ve been made aware of their rights,” he catches her up to speed, “Stan DeCivo confirmed everything…he strangled his daughter by the neck; Mrs. DeCivo disposed of the body. It’s all in writing.”  
  
“And the recording?” Scully gestures to the player Mulder gently clutches between his hand and hip. He brings it up, wordlessly presses the Play button. Mere silence, the soft hum of the magnetic tape completely devoid of anything.  
  
“What about the Bureau cassette?”  
  
“Same thing.”  
  
“The interrogation room videotape?”  
  
Mulder shakes his head, “Goes to static any time it caught her voice. It’s useless.”  
  
“We have the written confession,” Scully states, “We’ll get a warrant to see if we can find Silvia’s body from the porch.”  
  
Mulder merely nods, still clearly shaken. Scully reaches out, drags a finger slowly across the edge of the cassette player still in his hand.  
  
“I wonder how,” she muses. Mulder shrugs.  
  
“Maybe she did what she had to do,” he murmurs, “And there’s no need for it in our world anymore. Maybe now she truly has been found.”

**Author's Note:**

> This type of ficlet was different for me, and therefore a HUGE challenge. I wanted to create some kind of combination between a narrative tone and a script format that would make the overall tone unsettling and uncomfortable.
> 
> Jeri Lynn, you requested a thriller that didn't go crazy with fluff. It's a little low key on the UST (and I apologize for that), but I hope I fulfilled your hopes for a casefile and I did my best to try and freak you out. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Big thank you to Nicole/OnlyTheInevitable, the creator of this exchange. It was my very first one and I hope my submission is worthy. Thank you for organizing it and I can't WAIT to read everyone else's work.
> 
> Xx Meg


End file.
